


Mass Effect: Conspiracy

by sharioon



Series: Mass Effect [1]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-09
Updated: 2014-05-14
Packaged: 2018-01-24 03:08:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1589441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sharioon/pseuds/sharioon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The battle of the Citadel is over. However, even as the galaxy works to rebuild and recover, more trouble is on the horizon. Kita Varis, C-Sec detective, is assigned one of the hottest cases: the assassination of an Alliance ambassador. Her investigation takes her across the galaxy as she teams up with a former Black Ops soldier, an unnamed assassin, and a knowledgeable salarian as they rush to save the galaxy from erupting into war...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“In local news, Katherine Phillips, Alliance Ambassador to the Turian Hierarchy was found dead today shortly after her meeting with Primarch Fedorian.” The Galaxy News went mostly unheard in the dingy bar down in the depths of the Zakura Ward. It was owned by a human but he rarely showed up enough for anyone to really care who he was. All the low-life patrons cared about was how cheap the alcohol was; the Galaxy News was merely background noise for those who were wallowing in their own lives. “The Ambassador was found shot in her own living quarters on the Presidium. The Primarch and C-Sec have both confirmed that Phillips was acting on behalf of Salarian refugees who have been landlocked within Turian space. C-Sec has already begun an investigation into the shooting.”

“Can you believe this?” The human bartender leaned on the counter, trying to spark a conversation with the drell that was slowly nursing his drink. “Some assassin kills an ambassador who’s just trying to help people. I don’t believe that.”

“Hm.” The drell sipped his drink, ignoring the human. His solid black, reptilian eyes scanned the room. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but somehow he knew things were amiss.

“I mean, an assassin that has the balls to take out a human ambassador in broad daylight has to be some kind of badass.” The bartender smirked as he nodded towards another human in the bar. “Wouldn’t you say, John?”

“That I would.” John, a heavier human stood from his chair and crossed the room to the door, locking it tight. Two other humans stood from their various seats and started to slowly make their way towards the bar, and the drell. “It seems to me that Miss Phillips was only trying to do what was right. And someone went and ensured that she would never help people again.”

The drell sipped his drink again, keeping a very close eye on each man as they approached. The bartender was standing in front of him now, leaning far over the counter staring the reptilian drell in the face, looking over his scales and black and green pattern across his skin.

“You see, snake-man,” the bartender continued. “We may be young compared to you and the rest of these aliens, but we sure don’t like it when our people are assassinated for some political gain. Hell, that’s why most of us got the hell out of the Alliance. So why not just tell us why you did it and we’ll let you go? Why did you kill Ambassador Phillips?”

“You are gravely mistaken.” The drell’s voice echoed in the near empty bar, accenting the multiple sounds of his speech pattern. His black eyes looked up at the bartender, a face that flashed before his eyes many times before. His name was Steven Right, former Lieutenant in the third Alliance Fleet; dishonorably discharged for firing on Turian children after the First Contact War. He tried his hand at mercenary work before being threatened by the Bloodpack to stay out of their area. After that, he took small time escort and mercenary work he could find on the Citadel. He was nothing more than a hired thug. The drell glanced at the others; they were all former crew mates of Steven. More thugs who think they have what it takes to take on a hanar trained drell.

“I’m gravely mistaken for what?” Steven leaned in; knocking the glass the drell was drinking off the counter and on to the floor. “That we’ll actually let you go? Who knows? We might.”

“You are mistaken that even though you think you have the advantage, you do not.” In a quick flash, the drell leapt from his seat only a few inches to get his hands around Steven’s head. He twisted sharply and smirked at the sudden but unmistakable sound of bones cracking in the bartender’s neck. He released the body and turned to face the three opponents and looked into each of their widened eyes. “Now you are down to three, and I have taken your commander. Choose your next move wisely.”

“I got your next move!” John shoved his hand into his over-sized pants pocket. The drell had noticed the bulge hanging on his right side; a collapsed M-3 Predator pistol manufactured by Elanus Risk Control. It was a good design and the easiest to get past Citadel Security, especially if you have underworld ties. John started to pull the weapon out of his pocket but it got caught on his pocket seam for only a second. It was all the time the drell needed.

Taking a few steps forward, he caught John’s left hand firmly with his right and tucked his left under the armpit, twisting his body into the human and flung him through the air to collide with a nearby table. John groaned in pain as the remaining two humans exchanged worried glances. “Two down. Are you sure you want to press you luck further?”

The two humans started to make their way around the drell, trying to inch their way to the door before he changed his mind. But luck was not on their side. The drell tensed his body, activating the biotic nodules along his spinal column. The blue-black aura of dark energy lingered around him as he expelled the power. In the blink of an eye, the drell propelled himself into the lead human, slamming his target hard against the far wall, killing him on impact. Overtaken by shock, the second human could do nothing but stare as the drell’s hands clenched the human’s throat and lifted him off the ground. The human kicked and tried to scream but no sound came out from the crushing strength of the drell’s hands. Within seconds the body went limp and the drell gave one sharp twist to ensure the human would not be getting up again.

John shook his head and pushed pieces of the table off of him. He quickly glanced around in a haze and spotted his gun he had smuggled in for this job specifically. He reached out for his weapon but a strong foot pinned his hand to the floor, cracked several bones underneath. The drell slowly reached down and picked up the firearm. “I know your name is John Reach from Earth. You served aboard the SSV Juggernaut in your youth under Captain Ethan Jiang. Is that correct?”

“W-What?” John tried to clear his head through the pain.

The drell stepped harder on the human’s hand. “I asked if my information is correct.”

“Yes!” John blurted out, desperately trying to get his hand out from under the drell’s crushing pressure.

“I thought so.” The drell examined the gun and turned it on his would be assassin. “Who sent you after me, Mr. Reach?”

“I don’t know! I just got a message telling me where you’d be and that I’d be paid for taking you out!” Tears began to stream down the human’s face as the drell lay on more pressure to the already broken hand.

“I believe you.” The drell released the human and stepped away, keeping the gun trained on John’s head. “However, due to your lack of discretion, whoever hired you will think that you have failed. You will contact your employer and tell them that you succeeded and got rid of my body in an airlock. You will demand that you meet in person for payment. You will do all this, or I will come find you and not be nearly as nice to you as I was with your co-conspirators. Is that clear, Mr. Reach?”

“Y-yes.” John swallowed hard and couldn’t stop his shaking. “You have my word.”

“If you screw this up, Mr. Reach, I’ll have more than your word. I’ll have your life.” The drell popped out the thermal clip from the Predator and tossed the weapon behind the bar. He turned towards the back of the establishment and opened the back door. Taking a quick check of the alleyway he turned back to John who was still sitting and shaking on the floor. “I’ll be seeing you.”


	2. Chapter 2

The room was bright, open. It was just like almost any other room on the Presidium. Large windows that open on to the balconies that look over the crystal blue lakes that ran the circumference of the Citadel’s connecting ring. Kita stood very still, letting the evidence of her surroundings flow into her mind. Turians had a knack for sight and noticing the usually unnoticeable that other species overlook. Her dark blue armored face scales reflected the lights that seemed to cover the entire ceiling and her polished C-Sec armor reflected the grim scene before her.

Ambassador Phillip’s body had long been taken from the crime scene but all the evidence had been left. Chief Detective David Rogers had requested her personally to take a look before he could get there. The other human ambassadors and even Councilor Udina were barking down his neck to get something done about the assassination. None of it concerned Kita, not now anyway.

She carefully and meticulously stepped around the body’s outline and the dried blood splatter across the floor. She was hit from behind. The window was open, something the Ambassador did on a normal basis. Preliminary directional trajectory placed the gunman only a few stories higher on the opposite side of the lake. The time of death was at 14:00; a time when there are usually people out and about on the Citadel.

“A bold move.” Kita spoke to herself as she scanned the balconies across the way. Her attention was pulled away when she heard the door to the apartment slide open. She turned her head to acknowledge that she knew someone was in the room.

“Detective Kita.” Chief Detective David Rogers strode into the room with a hint of a smile on his face. His greying hair highlighted the wrinkles on his face. The human C-Sec officer stood a good three inches taller than Kita, something the turian detective was not fond of, but she didn’t hold biological make up against him. He was a broad man, who tended to wear his uniform a little tight to portray his powerful build. “Glad you made it. I kept getting stalled by the damn ambassadors in the hall. What do you make of it?”

“Nothing new,” Kita sighed. She turned her attention back to the balconies, still scanning the area. Rogers crossed his arms and leaned against the open window, a dramatic difference from Kita’s straight back, official stance. “The reports say that the shot came from the outside, yes? Have they narrowed the search parameters?”

“Not that I’ve heard.” Rogers glanced out the window, watching the air traffic glide by rather than a sniper advantage point. “Why? This seems just like another political assassination. We should be looking into her enemies; political opponents who want her out of the way.”

“There were plenty who wanted her out of the way. I’ve compiled a list.” Kita handed her commanding officer a data pad. Rogers calmly flipped through it, pausing at a name here or there. “No one on that list seems adventurous enough to set up an assassination like this in broad daylight. They would probably go for more of a quiet assassination. She dies in her sleep from natural causes. It doesn’t raise any suspicions. But sniping her from across the Presidium? That’s a statement. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone doesn’t take credit for it soon.”

“Well, we’ll have the tech guys get some V.I.s on the extranet looking for intel, I suppose.” Rogers handed the data pad back and stared to move towards the door. “No point in hanging around here. I’ll have the cleaners take care of it within the hour.”

“Delay them.” Kita turned to her commander. “I want to have a closer look at her files and apartment. Something doesn’t seem right about all of this.”

“What doesn’t seem right?” Rogers frowned. “She was a political extremist trying to get a foreign government to release prisoners of another foreign government. She was sticking her nose where it didn’t belong and she paid the price for it.”

“This is the price for trying to help people?” Kita pointed at the dried blood. Her orange eyes flashed a blood red. Catching her temper, she adjusted herself and straightened out. “I apologize, sir.”

“You should be, Kita.” Rogers straightened up, flexing out his shoulders. “I’ll delay the cleaning crew for one hour. That’s all I’m giving you. If you can’t find anything substantial, move on. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir.” Kita saluted as Rogers turned and left the room. Once alone again, she turned her attention from the blood and the window to the terminal in the corner. She took a seat and began the daunting task of sifting through the ambassador’s messages. Most were harmless documents, requests, and official statements, nothing that someone should be killed over. After nearly a half hour of reading, Kita came upon an interesting incoming message.

 

_Katherine,_

_I’m sorry, but the Digeris incident cannot be allowed into open knowledge. It would certainly mean the end to whatever peace that has been built between the Alliance and the Turian Hierarchy. Do not ask me to divulge this information again. The Salarian team will just have to wait a bit longer while we finish what we started there._

_Sincerely,_

_Ambassador Collins_

 

“Digeris incident?” Kita pulled her omni-tool from her belt and activated the holographic projection interface. She logged into the C-Sec database and began a search for all known incidents on Digeris. She was greatly disappointed when all the hits came back concerning the bloody battle during the Krogan Rebellion; nothing any more recent. She downloaded the message to her omni-tool and stashed it back on her belt. “What could possibly have happened for you to be murdered over?”

No sooner did she put her omni-tool away did it start to sound an alarm. She quickly retrieved it and recognized that she had an incoming message. Pressing a few buttons an image of a fellow turian C-Sec officer popped up on her screen.

“Detective Kita,” the officer began. “This is Officer Riles on the Presidium. We have information regarding your case.”

“Yes, officer, what is it?” Kita leaned back in the chair.

“Ma’am,” the officer seemed to smile. “We found a witness.”


	3. Chapter 3

The warehouse was dark when the drell arrived. He circled around from the front and found an unlatched window on the far side. Slipping inside he took up a good spot to see this evening’s events unfold. John had made good on his word and had set up a meeting with his benefactor. Unfortunately, the incoming message was heavily encrypted and the drell didn’t have time to get an accurate voice analysis of the sending party. Instead, he was eager to see them in person. He set up behind several large crates on the third level and looked down into the open void on the first floor.

His armor was a matte dark green; something he built himself to ensure it reflected as little light as possible. He had also installed numerous external biotic amplifiers to empower his own abilities. It was a suit of armor he was proud to wear; as was the sniper rifle he slung off his back and expanded. He normally didn’t hold much attachment to his equipment. It could easily be lost, destroyed, stolen; but this particular rifle tended to be his favorite out of his arsenal. The original manufacturer called it the M-92 Mantis; a slow firing, high accuracy sniper rifle fit for any crack shot. Usually not the type of weapon the drell preferred but after a few modifications, he became accustomed to its use.

He stabilized the Mantis on one of the crates and peered down scope at the only target below. John had already arrived at the meeting location and was quietly, and nervously, waiting for the others to show. The minutes ticked by as the drell kept his breathing calm and steady, keeping constant watch for any other movement. But something did not seem right. The meeting was scheduled for 16:00, and it was long past then. John was starting to get antsy. His body language went from worried to frustrated and was now passing into angry.

“Stay calm.” The drell whispered to John, who he knew could not hear him. He wanted the benefactor to show their face, not be scared off by a pissed off mercenary. The drell glanced around once more, and then he heard it. It was a sound that triggered the drell’s eidetic memory; he had heard the sound countless times before and made it himself on numerous occasions. It was the quiet _zip_ of a silenced sniper rifle. The drell’s eye went back to the scope just in time to see John staring down at the fresh bullet wound in his chest, shocked. A second _zip_ lingered over the air and half of John’s head exploded into brain matter and blood. His body immediately went limp and he collapsed on the ground.

“Damn.” The drell scoffed. His keen eyes immediately started scanning the surrounding areas, picked sniper nests and covert cubbies. He should have known better. John and his team were a loose end; they needed to be eliminated. However, he couldn’t dwell on that now. He needed information about what it was all about. Why was he being targeted? The drell remained perfectly still, his black eyes darting from spot to spot, desperately trying to pick up movement.

Then he saw it. A brief flicker of light caught the assassin’s armor. In a quick, silent movement, the drell spun his rifle around and took close aim. The shot rang out, followed by a sharp gasp of pain and the sound of a body collapsing. The drell collapsed his weapon and secured it to the slot on the back of his armor. He leaped from his cover, sprinting along the catwalks, trying to make it to the fallen assassin before they were able to crawl away. The shot had been good, but not good enough to take him down.

The drell leapt up a flight of stairs, taking them three at a time. Rounding a corner, he rolled for cover as a shot rang out. The assassin was alive and well, and was shooting at him. Several more shots echoed through the warehouse, slamming into the crate the drell had taken cover behind. He calmly reached for his own pistol that was strapped to his side and breathed deep, trying to calm the adrenalin pumping through his veins. Patiently he waited until he heard the familiar sound of a thermal clip being replaced. He jumped at the opportunity the assassin gave him.

The drell leaned from his cover, carefully placing his aim. He squeezed the trigger with strength and fluidity. The end of the pistol barrel erupted in a flash of flame as the mass-effect accelerator propelled the miniature slug through the air and collided with the assassin’s right hand, at least temporarily incapacitating it if not permanently. The assassin screamed in pain, clutching his hand as the pistol fell to the ground. Seeing that his target would not get far, the drell calmly stood and walked over to the assassin.

“Who do you work for?” The drell glanced over the assassin’s armor; there were no identifiable marks or patterns. The armor was clean, fresh, and devoid of battle scars. It was bought precisely for this one job and was then going to be dumped. Not receiving an immediate answer, and to keep him from running, the drell fired his pistol again, this time into the assassin’s knee cap. The screams were far louder this time.

“I asked you a question, assassin.” The drell looked over the man’s pistol and sniper rifle that had been dropped when he tried to leave. Both were freshly bought, or very well maintained. But the drell could see that the scope for the rifle was off; probably why the first shot failed to kill John. Still not receiving an answer, the drell fired again, into the other knee cap.

“Please! Stop!” The assassin cried out, holding out his one good hand to the drell in a plea of mercy. His mask no doubt was hiding the involuntary tears that were streaming down his face from the pain.

“Unfortunately, mercy is a luxury those in our profession do not have.” The drell slowly knelt beside the assassin, human by his speech pattern and body structure. He pressed the barrel of his pistol between the armor plates that was designed to protect his ball joint of his shoulder. “I will ask you again. Who do you work for?”

“Please, he’ll kill me if I tell you.” The human’s head snapped from the drell to the gun at his shoulder, his hands shaking in fear.

“Your fate will be worse if you do not disclose the information I have requested.” The drell pressed the barrel harder into the human’s shoulder. “Tell me your benefactor’s name.”

The human swallowed hard. He leaned his face forward, trying his best to keep his voice down. “His name is Amon Tau. He hired me at Tylium’s Pub.”

“Who is Amon Tau?” The drell pressed the barrel harder, pushing the human back towards the ground.

“I never met him in person.” The human winced in pain as he tried to move his legs. “He sent me a message about earning some money. It was supposed to be a simple kill and I’d be getting thousands for my trouble. That guy was a dirt bag. No one would miss him.”

“There is always someone to miss them.” The drell fought the surging memories that started to revisit his mind. The child on Omega, shortly after he murdered her mother in cold blood; the husband on Eden Prime; the entire crew of the SSV Tornado. “What is his connection with me?”

“I don’t even know who you are!” The human exclaimed, pleading once again. “Please, just let me go! I promise I won’t tell anyone about this, I swear.”

The drell sighed. He had taken all the information from this would be assassin as he could. He was of no more use. “You’re right. I know you won’t tell anyone about me.”

The human sighed in relief as the drell stood. He holstered his pistol and started to walk away. “Then again,” the drell stopped in his tracks. “I do have to be sure.”

In one swift motion, the drell produced the microblade sword he had stashed on the back of his belt. The blade quickly extended and locked into place just in time for the edge to slice through the human’s neck armor, severing the head from the body. Blood began to pool as the drell calmly retrieved the human’s omni-tool from his belt and quietly walked away from another loose end.


	4. Chapter 4

“Useless!” Kita threw the data pad on to the table in frustration. Her office on the presidium over looked the lakes near the Zakura Ward arm attachments. She slumped down in her chair and stared out the window, her mind racing for the next step in her puzzle.

The witness had been less than viable. When Kita arrived he was almost passed out from how drunk he was. The once pleased C-Sec officer now almost cowered in shame from alerting the detective to a fickle lead. What information they got from the witness was spotty at best. He claimed he saw everything from a geth incursion team to an Asari Justicar exiting the sniper’s nest. But what he did confirm was that there was a sniper’s nest. The assassin had done a poor job cleaning up after themselves; a spent thermal clip, a data pad detailing the movements of Ambassador Phillips, and a clocked response V.I. for C-Sec’s response time.

Unfortunately, that didn’t tell her much more except that he had been an amateur. The apartment that the shot was fired from had been abandoned and sat empty for months. The last person to lease it was a human dignitary named Amon Tau, but he had long since left the Citadel for travels around the various human colonies. According to all the C-Sec logs, he hadn’t been on the Citadel for three months; long before Ambassador Phillips inquired about the Digeris Incident.

“Digeris.” Kita sat up in her chair and flipped on her terminal. She started to pull up all information she could on Digeris, from the founding of the Turian colonies to the Krogan uprising that resulted in one of the bloodiest wars in the Rebellion. None of this information was new. This was all taught to her when she applied to join C-Sec. “There has to be something to connect Digeris to the Salarians stranded there.”

Kita jumped slightly when the knock at her door came loud and abrupt. She frowned and stared, hoping the visitor would just go away. Another series of knocks told her otherwise. “Come in.”

The door slid open to reveal Chief Detective David Rogers on the other side. He half-smiled as he stepped in. “Am I interrupting anything?”

“No.” Kita leaned back in her chair, still staring at the compiling information on her screen.

“Hm.” Rogers rounded the desk and looked over the lists and reports from Turian, Alliance, and Krogan military officials. “What’s all this then?”

“You remember what Ambassador Phillips was doing the day she died?” Kita offered for Rogers to take a seat. He obliged as she continued. “She was negotiating with Primarch Fedorian to allow a C-Sec squad to retrieve some Salarian civilians from Digeris. The Primarch refused so she was going to take it straight to the Council, or so that’s what the rumors are.”

“Wait, Digeris?” Rogers asked, confused. “Where did this information come from?”

“I… hacked into Phillips’ message account.” Kita averted her eyes from her commander. Hacking a secure terminal without permission was very much frowned upon.

“Are you serious?” Rogers stood. He started pacing the room, running his hands through his greying hair. “Do you know how much trouble you could be in if the Alliance found out you hacked into one of their Ambassador’s terminals?”

“Yes. But I saw that it was the only way to get more information.” Kita raised her voice to match the anger from her commander. “If you please just sit back down I’ll explain the rest of what I’ve found.”

Rogers paused then made his way back to his chair. “I’m not sure I want you to continue with the rest of it.”

“Anyway,” Kita continued. “I found a message from Ambassador Collins stating that Phillips was not to ask about something called the _Digeris Incident_. He claimed that the Salarian refugees would have to wait until they were done.”

“Done with what?”

“I don’t know.” Kita shrugged her shoulders and turned back to the terminal. “We did find the sniper’s nest though; thermal clips and everything. This guy is not the best in the ‘verse.”

“Maybe a local hire.” Rogers stood and leaned over the turian’s shoulder. “You know, picked up for a one shot job and paid to disappear. I’ve seen it happen before.”

“Yeah, but something doesn’t add up.” Kita shifted her weight, leaning away from the human. “There’s something about this Digeris Incident that is just bugging me. Why would someone go so far to assassinate an Alliance Ambassador just for trying to save some salarian Refugees? It makes no sense.”

“Hm.” Rogers shrugged and started back towards the door. “I hate to tell you this again, Kita. Your mission is to find the assassin, not worry about Alliance politics trying to look good for the salarian government. Find the shooter.”

“Right.” Kita sighed as she watched the door slide shut behind her commander. “Like hell I’m letting this pass.

“Officer Riles.” Kita punched up the short range communications on her omni-tool. “Compile all information we have on Amon Tau and send it to my terminal at once.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll get on it as soon as I’m back in the offices.” Officer Riles nodded in acknowledgement. “I was actually about to contact you. We found what may have been the assassin, ma’am.”

“What?” Kita shot up out of her chair, staring at the holographic image of the turian. “What the hell do you mean?”

“Down in the warehouse district, we got a call about gunfire.” Riles shifted, trying to not seem nervous. “Once we got down here we found a human alongside a recently used sniper rifle and pistol. His death, however, is rather odd.”

“What do you mean, rather odd?”

“Well, ma’am, he’s missing his head.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Who is he?” Kita knelt down next to the decapitated body. She examined the bullet holes; one in each knee, one in the right hand, and one in the side. She frowned as she pulled the blanket back over the corpse.

“We’re still working on that, ma’am.” Riles waved an unspoken command to his officers. They immediately headed back down the stairs to see about the forensics team and what was keeping them. “From what we can tell, he used that sniper rifle and that pistol to fire at a target. There are holes spread across that hallway and crates by the door. His armor doesn’t seem to match any local gangs or merc groups.”

“No.” Kita sighed as she paced around, taking in the placement of the two weapons. She knelt down next to the sniper rifle and mocked taking aim across the area. “He was too well armed for a small time gang and if he was a merc group member, he’d have their symbol branded all over him. No, he was a small time hit man; or just really screwed up this time.”

“He also didn’t have an omni-tool on him.” Riles handed Kita the data pad he had been typing on. “We’re running his description through the traffic V.I.s to see if he pops up anywhere, but I doubt it. Without the head, there’s not too much we can do.”

“Why take the head?” Kita flipped through the report. “The omni-tool, sure, that’ll have records of his whereabouts and communications, but we can still ID him off of his DNA. What is the significance of the head?”

“I don’t have an answer for that, ma’am.”

“It’s alright, Riles. You did your job.” Kita frowned and looked back at the bullet holes in the wall. “Who did he shoot the sniper rifle at?”

“Ma’am?” Riles turned back from another officer who had arrived.

“Those bullet holes are from the pistol but there is heat missing from the sniper rifle’s thermal clip. With that model, he fired at least twice. Where did the slugs go?”

“I’m not sure, ma’am.” Riles turned to his fellow officers. “Fan out. Find out where the slugs went.”

Kita turned back to the body. He was trying to crawl away. The first hit had to have been his side; he was laying on it and it looked as though he tried to stop the bleeding. The second would have been his hand. Both shots to the knees were close range, no more than a few feet, if that. “This man was tortured.”

Several C-Sec officers paused in what they were doing and turned their attention to the detective. They exchanged glances as Kita continued. “He was shot with a large gun in the side; an assault rifle or a sniper rifle. The rest of these are pistol wounds, though. Then, of course there’s the missing head; the killing blow. Either his assailant got the information he wanted or this guy died protecting that knowledge.”

Kita paced around the body again. This was her tactic: examine everything until it becomes redundant. She was entirely too untrusting of the other C-Sec officers, with only a few minor exceptions like Officer Riles and Chief Detective David Rogers. Many, while they have seen military service, dropped out to find a far more comfortable job on the Citadel. Being a third generation C-Sec detective, this rubbed Kita the wrong way. “Anything back on his DNA yet?”

“Not yet, ma’am, but we’ll get you the info as soon as we receive it.” Riles nodded, confirming his promise.

“Wait a minute.” Kita’s eyes danced from the body and the weapons to the ceiling, the walls, and lights. The Citadel was a fortress; the seat of Council space; the pinnacle of law and order in the galaxy. Practically nothing happened on the Citadel with someone or something catching it. “Where are the vids from the security cameras?”

“Uh,” Riles turned to look at the other officers, seemingly looking for help. “I’m sorry, ma’am, there are no vid feeds down here. This section of the Zakura Ward is still under construction from the geth attack months ago.”

Kita’s heart sank. What could have been the breaking point of her case had just slipped through her fingers. The entire Citadel was wired with security cameras, recording any and all actions in public space for the entire station. It just had to be her luck that this was the only area that was currently not under surveillance.

Kita’s eyes widened. Her stance straightened. The idea had finally dawned on her and she would be kicking herself later for not requisitioning it sooner. “Riles! Get me the video feeds from thirty minutes before the assassination of Ambassador Phillips at the sniper’s nest! I want it at my terminal in ten minutes. Go!”

Kita raced down the stairs towards her skycar. She had wasted all this time when she could have checked the vids from the beginning. It was not a mistake she was planning on making a second time. The skycar was open when she made it to the bottom of the stairs, carefully controlling her racing heart as she hurried past the waiting officers and sped off into the traffic lanes. She smiled to herself as she lay in a course for her office, “I’ve got you now.”


	6. Chapter 6

The terminal was blinking, indicating a new message had arrived when the detective burst into her office. Kita almost leapt across her desk and slid into her seat, activating the message. Immediately, the vid popped up on her screen.

“Yes.” She excitedly proclaimed as the hall outside Amon Tau’s room came into focus. The time stamp said 13:30; thirty minutes before the assassination of the Ambassador. Patiently she waited, barely blinking, watching the door and the neighboring hall. The time ticked by. No one passed by the camera. In fact, there seemed to be no movement at all. The screen flickered. Kita leaned forward and looked at the time stamp: 17:10.

“What the hell?” Kita rewound the vid and watched it again and again. She screamed in frustration, “Son of a bitch!”

In a bought of rage that she had managed to keep under control for so long, she violently swept her hands across her desk, sending data pads and empty cups scattering over the floor. She even made an effort to kick over her chair, but the firmly built sitting device held its ground. She leaned on her desk, head hung low; another dead end. She knew something was wrong here, and someone was going to great lengths to cover it up.

After her rage had smoldered a moment, Kita sat back down at her terminal. She set about bring up the maintenance schedule for that area of the previous day. Bingo, she thought to herself. A new requisition was put in one hour before the assassination to have all cameras shut off for ‘repair’ in the area. “There is a cover up going on.”

“About time you figured that out.”

Kita spun from her chair, drawing her pistol side arm. In the open window stood a solitary drell, custom armor with a sniper rifle across his back and a pistol at his side. “Who the hell are you?”

“We have common interests, Detective.” The drell calmly raised his hands to show that he had no intention of doing her any harm. “You want to find out who killed the Ambassador and I want to know why Amon Tau wants me dead. From what I can tell our paths coincide.”

“You know nothing about my investigation.” Kita kept her pistol trained on the drell as he moved from the window into the room, his hands still raised in polite surrender. “And who the hell is Amon Tau?”

“Surely your investigation has turned up his name,” the drell smirked. “I mean, you have a whole compiled list of his whereabouts on your terminal.”

“You idiot.” Kita laughed. “You just admitted to hacking a C-Sec detective’s terminal. That’s a criminal offense punishable by five years.”

“I hacked nothing, although I’m certain I could have.” The drell started looking around the office, seeming to admire the plaques on the wall. “I’m not the one who left my terminal unlocked while I went off to investigate some random murder in the Zakura Ward.”

“You killed him didn’t you?” Kita’s accusation got the drell’s attention. His black eyes focused on her and scanned her up and down. “Who was he and why did you kill him?”

“I don’t know who he was, that is not my concern.” The drell clasped his hands behind his back and turned to face the detective. “What is my concern is why Amon Tau sent him to kill the men who were sent to kill me.”

“Wait, what?” Kita cocked her head and lowered her gun only a fraction of an inch. “Amon Tau sent men to kill you and then another assassin to kill them? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Of course it does.” The drell took a few steps closer to the detective. “He’s simply tying up loose ends in his assassination conspiracy. My only question is why he wanted me dead in the first place.”

“You honestly expect me to believe that you broke into my office late at night just to tell me we have common interests?” Kita raised her gun. “I don’t believe it. For all I know you’re the one who shot Ambassador Phillips.”

“If I am your killer, then why come to the detective leading the investigation?” The drell turned and paced around the desk; Kita’s firearm never left its target. “If I was smart about it, I would have taken my shot and left on the next transport off the Citadel. There would be no need to stick around.”

“Unless you are the world’s stupidest assassin.” Kita smirked.

The drell paused and turned his dark eyes to the turian. “Your opinions aside, I have a proposition for you, detective; one that should get us both closer to what we want.”

“Oh yeah?” Kita started circling the desk, trying to get closer to the illusive drell. “What proposal would that happen to be?”

“I have tracked the employer of my would be assassin to a bar on the Zakura Ward called Tylium’s Pub. Have you heard of it?”

“Who hasn’t?” Kita lowered her weapon but kept a tight grip on the handle, prepared to use it should the need arise. “Everyone in C-Sec knows that it’s a front for the Bloodpack to operate on the Citadel. They just keep their nose ‘officially’ clean so we can’t touch them.”

“Exactly.” The drell seemed to smile briefly. Kita could not help but find it disturbing. “What if I told you that I could get you the proof you need to shut down Tylium’s Pub for good?”

“I’d say you’re insane, but here you are, a murder suspect, in a C-Sec detective’s office proposing we break the law.” She pulled up her gun at the drell again. She could see that he was getting annoyed with the constant prospect of being shot at. “If, and it’s a big ‘if’, you can get this information for C-Sec, what do you possibly need from me in return?”

“I need C-Sec access to the whereabouts of Amon Tau.”

“Absolutely not.” Kita frowned as she started moving slowly towards the drell. “We are tracking him down and will bring him in for questioning. I am not about to send an assassin to murder him in his sleep. Period.”

The drell sighed. This was not going as he had intended. The detective was supposed to be still at the crime scene of that hired mercenary, not here threatening him with violence. Then again, the curiosity of the drell won over when she started checking the vid feeds from the sniper’s nest. He found it just as interesting as she did and altered his plan to get some extra support. However, that plan was not necessarily going as well as he would have hoped.

“Fine.” The drell finally spoke. “I’ll make you a better deal. Help me find Amon Tau and I’ll help you solve your conspiracy theory as well as give you the information needed to take down Tylium’s Pub.”

Kita thought for a moment. Her investigation seemed to be going nowhere and this drell was her only lead. Sure she could have Amon Tau possibly transferred back to the Citadel for questioning, but he could be out in the Terminus systems for all she knew and there was no way any warrant would bring him back from there. She slowly lowered her gun and clipped it back into its slot. “Fine. But first, you tell me exactly why you’re after Amon Tau.”


End file.
